James E. Harrison

DELMAR - James E. Harrison "Jim" died peacefully in his sleep on March 13, 2013 of heart failure. Jim was born in Queens, New York on September 14, 1920 to James B. Harrison and Ruth Shultz Harrison. He was preceded in death by his wife, Audrey Fenton Harrison and his sister, Ruth Brown. He is survived by his three children, Jean Harrison Danver of Los Altos Hills, CA, James Bryan Harrison of Saratoga Springs, NY, and Sue Ellen Harrison of Boulder, CO; seven grandchildren and four great-grand children. He spent his youth primarily in Freeport, New York and went on to Hofstra College, the first in his family to go to college, and graduated in the class of 1942. At graduation WWII intervened. Jim was selected for OCS and then selected to attend Harvard University to become a statistician for the Army Air Core, eventually achieving the rank of Captain. Before being shipped overseas, Jim courted and married, the beautiful, Audrey Fenton. They were married on April 27, 1943; a marriage that lasted sixty-five years until Audrey's death on March 24, 2011. While in the Air Corp, Jim was instrumental in setting up the very first aircraft maintenance schedule and in bringing the vast amount of troops and equipment back after the war in the Pacific. Jim's career reflected the times through which his life spanned. In the early 50s, Pepsi Cola Company moved his wife and three children to Dallas, Texas where he was the first one to correlate the relationship of weather to soft drink sales. While in Dallas, he joined a young company called Texas Instruments. Later, he moved his family back to Long Island to be with Ratheon Corporation and later to Rumson, New Jersey to work for the Bendix Semiconductor Division. After Bendix closed down he worked for a number of smaller firms doing sales and marketing in the emerging high tech field before retiring. He and Audrey spent almost 30 of their remaining years living at Shadow Lake Village in Red Bank, New Jersey. Jim was very active in golf, winning numerous tournaments, and gardening and served several times as president of the owner's association. Just before his 89th birthday Jim & Audrey moved to Albany, New York so his son, Bryan, could better assist them. There he spent the last few years of his life. Jim is remembered by his children and grandchildren for encouraging them to become whatever they dreamed, regardless of gender and circumstances. He was proud of his family and supported their endeavors. A Memorial Service will be held on Saturday, June 29th at 11:00 am at the Saratoga Springs United Methodist Church, 175 Fifth Ave., Saratoga Springs, NY 12866. Private inurnment will be in Saratoga National Cemetery, Schuylerville, NY. Those who wish may send a remembrance in his name to the Wounded Warrior Project (www.woundedwarriorproject.org).